


married at first sight

by thoughtfullyyoungduck



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Fluff, Honeymoon, M/M, Meeting, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Mess, married at first sight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-02-19 08:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22741621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtfullyyoungduck/pseuds/thoughtfullyyoungduck
Summary: Sonia applies Eddie for a tv show called married at first sight, what she doesn’t know is that Eddie secretly changes his preferences from female to male.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Reddie - Relationship
Comments: 10
Kudos: 161





	1. meetings

Eddie hates his mother. He had had this though all throughout his childhood, but right at this moment, he had never meant it more. He knew that his mother didn’t accept the fact that he was gay, he knew that very well, but he had never suspected that her urgency in him finding a wife would result in her enlisting him for married at first fucking sight. Eddie has watched the show on multiple occasions, and he always laughed when he saw the poor unfortunate people who got matched to their seemingly worst nightmare of spouses. He had never thought he would become one of those idiots. His mother had registered him to the show, and only had let him in on it when it was too late to back out.

Actually, it wasn’t even Sonia that told him about it. He had been in his office, working long hours because he hated to go home now that his mother lived there too. Sonia had injured her leg in an accident and had insisted that she stayed with Eddie until her leg was healed, and he hadn’t had the heart to tell her no. He decided to stay in his office longer, that way he got paid overtime, and he avoided his mother as much as possible. It was a win-win situation. It was however not such a great idea to take the phone call there. When the voice on the line told him that he needed to come in to give them some extra information about himself, Eddie lost it. He had threatened with lawsuits, exclaiming that he had no idea what was even going on. 

He had to give the woman, Greta he believed her name was, credit for staying as calm as she could be, given the way Eddie started tyrannizing against her. She had calmly explained to him that it was his mother that had called in for him, claiming that he himself was too busy to do it, but that he gave full consent. She also told him that he was to appear on the show, and if he didn’t, he would be fined a check of 50.000 dollars, and that was money Eddie just couldn’t throw away like that. He had slammed down his phone after shouting a few insults at the woman, sinking down into his chair with his chest heaving. He gripped his hair in his hands, pulling tightly and almost pulling out some of his hairs. 

He was going to kill him mother, he thought. But he did realize that he had no choice but to agree to be on the show, seeing as there was no way out. He had fumed for at least an hour more, thinking about how he was going to chuck his mother out of the house, how he was going to cut all ties with her, and how he was going to file for a restraining order before coming up with a much better idea. 

A smirk pulled at his lips. If his mother wanted him to find a spouse so desperate, then he was going to do so. He called back to Greta, apologized to her and agreed to being on the show with one exception. He was going to marry a man. When he came home later that day, he acted enthusiastically, embracing his mother, even though it caused chills to run through his body, and thanked her up and down about the amazing opportunity she had gave him. Sonia was beside herself from happiness, praising the lords for curing her poor baby, and giving him a chance to redeem himself. Eddie watched with anger filled eyes as she did her night prayer, he was going to show her just how redeemed he was.

The first day the producers of the show come to film, Eddie throws a fit once more. They come into his house without notice of them coming that day, causing him to have to call out of work and cancel lunch he was supposed to be having with an old childhood friend. Said friend asked him why he had to cancel, and Eddie has been too embarrassed to admit that he was enrolled in married at first sight, so he had made up some excuse about his mother being very ill.

It made Eddie feel horrible to lie, and his resentment towards his mother grew bit by bit. He was supposed to have friends over to help him decide on what to wear, but he could only think of one person who was distant enough to appear on tv, which was his work colleague called Matthew. He and Matthew weren’t particularly close.

In fact, Eddie didn’t have very many people at all he liked to spend his time with, choosing instead to come home and relax in the confinement of his home. He remembers vaguely a time where that was different, he thinks back to day spend swimming in a lake, or jumping off cliffs, but that sounded so unlike him he dismissed the idea to his pure childhood imagination. He probably saw other kids do this, and became a bit jealous, this resulting in him imagining doing those things himself.

Regardless, him and Matthew at lunch together, and on rare occasions they would go to a bar to get some drinks, or go to a movie theater. So he was the first one that came to Eddie’s mind when Greta appeared, saying that he needed someone who could tell them what kind of person he was. Matthew was all too happy to skip out of work, and made his way over there in a mere hour.

Eddie in the meantime was dying, cleaning every surface at least twice, because people kept touching stuff that they weren’t supposed too. Eddie hated that those people were probably transferring germs onto every surface in his apartment, but he didn’t say anything, because he knew how he would make it look on the camera. He did some interviews explaining that he joined the show because he didn’t know how to tell guys were guy and he had been single for so long, which technically was true.

Most people at his office knew he was gay, he made no secret of that. But they had never actually seen him with a man. He had met a woman once called Myra, but that relationship only lasted two months because he had realized she was way more like his mother than anyone would feel comfortable with. It took a while before Eddie was comfortable with exposing that was into guys, and a big part of that had to do with his mother, but luckily his workplace had been the exact right fit for him. On the first day his boss had showed up with his husband, and Eddie had just stared at the both of them kissing in public. He had no idea there were people who were that open and out to the world in the workplace.

He had damn near lost his job, because his boss had interpreted him staring at them in a wrong way. Eddie had just spouted it out, surprised at his own words, ‘I’m gay too.’ His boss had looked surprised, especially when Eddie told him that it was the first time he had ever said it out loud. Thankfully, his boss had just laughed and he had been nothing but kind to Eddie ever since.

When Matthew finally arrived Eddie dragged his towards a suite store right away, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Eddie hadn’t realized how long these interviews would take, and he was already tired of it.

Matthew had joked with him when they finally finished up with shooting for the day, saying that he would just have to get out in the first week, not understanding that that was exactly what Eddie had planned.

Eddie was sure he would drive the poor guy crazy within the first 2 days regardless. When Eddie hadn’t responded to Eddie’s jokes, he had looked peculiar, but he had let it go.

They had picked a dark blue suit, with a rainbow colored hand achieve, thanks to Eddie’s intention to ruin this entire plan for his mother. 

She doesn’t even notice though. The day before the wedding, Eddie’s starting to have doubts about his whole idea of what the next day should look like. He had been in a haze of fury when he asked the producer to match him with a man, but he hadn’t thought of the repercussions, about how his mom would react. He hated her, but he couldn’t help but love her too. She was the one that gave birth to him, and he often had conflicted feelings about that. He should love her mom than just because she gave brought him to life, he should love her because she’s a woman who has cared for him all his life and who taught him all the important things in life, he doesn’t though and he despises himself for that.

He’s starting to think that it might not be such a good idea when his mom mentions how proud her sisters are of him, and how they can’t wait to see her tomorrow. He hadn’t even know that they were coming.

He can’t sleep that night and he gives up on trying to at around five a.m. instead opting to pace throughout his kitchen, drinking enough coffee to have his hands shaking like crazy. His mother wakes up at six, as she always does, and she has the brightest smile on her face that Eddie has ever seen. It annoys him, the fact that she’s only this happy because he’s about to get a wife. He doesn’t respond to it although he really wants too. Even more when his mother says; ‘I’m glad you finally feel better Eddie-bear and out those sick and filthy thoughts out of your head. I’m proud of you for choosing the right thing.’ Eddie instantly doesn’t feel guilty anymore about what’s he’s about to do.

He knew that his wedding was going to take place in a tent outside in the woods, he had managed to compromise with Greta. His wedding was supposed to take place on the beach, but Eddie refused to step foot on the sand, and Greta had reluctantly agreed. He’s not exactly ecstatic about this venue either, but it’ll do.

He paid the janitor that cleans his office to clean the tent, so he knows he’ll do everything in his power to get it as clean as possible. When he tells his mom where they’re going as they’re in the car, his mom throws a fit.

‘Do you know how much dirt and diseases are in the forest Eddie-bear? Would you really want to risk that? How would that beautiful girl feel when she has to walk with her white dress into branches and bugs on the floor. She acts like a toddler. Eddie doesn’t have it in himself to argue with her that it wasn’t even his choice, he just lets her rant. His mother has been fantasizing about how his ‘true’ love would look like. Eddie doesn’t think that the experts really have it in them to find the eighth matches, he thinks it’s bullshit. Still, the woman his mother describes, blond hair, short and a ‘caring’ personality is nothing like Eddie’s type at all. He hopes to god, he doesn’t get stuck with someone like Sonia. He don’t think he’d even survive a week.

He’s worried too, about how he’ll look on tv. He has spend his whole life putting on a façade towards the world. He’s done it with his mother ever since he found out he was gay, and later towards his workplace too, because he didn’t feel like he could trust anyone. It’s been exhausting, and when he gets to his apartment to spend the night by himself, he can finally breath. He doesn’t have to worry about what people will think of him, and he can just be Eddie, not at Edward.

He’s afraid that he’ll be filmed for an entire day and won’t be able to present himself as pristine and proper, the way Sonia had always insisted he was. Eddie didn’t think he was all that formal as people might think of him. Granted he never took risks and organized everything to a T, but sometimes he had these irrational impulses, to jump headfirst into danger, and to feel the thrill of it. At times he could feel the anger burning in his veins when one of his partners came up with an idiot plan and he had to excuse himself to the bathroom because if he didn’t, he might actually kill him.

But those were all the kind of things Eddie didn’t show, didn’t want to show. He knew however, that his ‘partner’ would want to know everything about him, and Eddie couldn’t even be honest with himself at times, let alone to some stranger he had just met.

He’s there first, which is honestly a blessing. There are a lot of chairs unfilled, both on his side and on the side of the mystery guy. His mother takes it upon herself to greet the brides family, and he shuffles behind her, like a petulant child. The parents of his future husband introduce themselves as Wentworth, ‘went’ Tozier and Maggie Tozier. Maggie has the warmest smile on her face as she looks at Eddie, which Eddie graciously returns. He turns beet red though, when Sonia starts asking about their ‘beautiful daughter’.

If Eddie could go back in the past, he’d just pay that damn fine, nothing is worth standing here like an idiot. He can’t though, and it’s starting to dawn on him that his mother will most definitely make a fit, and that will be televised to show to the entire country. He rubs his hands on his trousers nervously, and he makes eye contact with Maggie. She stares at him, looks him right in the eyes and though Eddie wants to look away, he feels like he can’t. She seems to look for something, and Eddie can see from the corner of his eyes how her hand lands on Went’s arm.

Went looks at her, opens his mouth to, most likely to dispute Sonia’s statement and tell her that he in fact has a son, but him and his wife seem to have a silent conversation, and he closes his mouth again. Maggie changes the conversation.

When the traditional wedding song starts, he panics. He looks at his mom who looks as smug as could be, and he looks at Matthew standing besides him, and he nearly cries. He can’t have her throw a tantrum and it being filmed. He couldn’t bare to have people all over the country know that his mother treats him the way she does, and he just lets her. He looks back at his assistant in the front row, on the other side of his mom and he makes a gesture at her. She jumps up fast and runs towards him, a confused look on her face. ‘You have to get my mom out of here,’ he begs her, his voice desperate. She opens her mouth to argue, Eddie knows, since she absolutely despised the woman, but Eddie buts in first. ‘Please, I’ll do anything you want.’

She fixes him with a look, smiles and turns back around towards Sonia. ‘Mom, I need you to go with Erika and get the gift I bought for my future spouse, I left it there.’ The car is at least a 10 minute walk if you walked fast which Sonia Kaspbrak does not do, and he didn’t even buy a gift. He knows it not enough time to cover a wedding, but he hopes Erika can distract her ling enough. His plan on getting revenge flies out the window, he’ll deal with her later. 

His mother looks baffled, but Eddie and Erika are already ushering her away. ‘But Eddie-bear, I’ll miss the wedding’, she complains, but she’s following Erika out already. She’s only doing it because she wants to appear as motherly as possible.

‘Don’t worry mss Kaspbrak, the always plays the song when the bride just left her apartment.’ Erika tries to sooth. It’s an awful excuse and Erika winces, but Sonia just nods and makes her way, slowly, towards the limo.

Just in time. As soon as she disappears in the woods, a car stops in front of the massive tent they’re in, and he looks down nervously. He can’t do this. In his mind he can already hear his mothers screeching voice when she sees a man walk in, and a headache is already forming. He hears footstep behind him, as he had turned his back towards the entrance. He squeezes his eyes shut and he hopes against all hope that the camera isn’t pointed at him right now, the hope is feeble.

He glances behind him when he hears a laugh from their guests, and when he does he’s struck with an intense feeling of familiarity. He doesn’t’ know why, but he feels like he knows this person.

He can’t possibly though and Eddie shakes the weird feeling. He looks at the guy up and down. He’s actually kind of hot. Not in the conventional way, cause he’s kind of scruffy looking, his hair looks like it hasn’t been combed in days and his suit is wrinkled, not to mention the fact that he isn’t wearing matching socks. But he has this charm about him that Eddie instantly likes. He looks sweet almost, the way he’s staring at Eddie, with his jaw dropped open, but then his lips curl into a smirk.

‘Yowza, nobody told me I’d be pared with cutie’, the stranger says, and his entourages burst out laughing. Eddie snorts, but doesn’t respond as he steps in front of him. ‘I’m Eddie Kaspbrak’, Eddie says formally with a slight strain in his voice. The stranger grins sweetly, ignoring Eddie’s outstretched hand and dragging him into a hug. ‘I’m Richie Tozier’, he responds, ‘It’s not to meet you Eds.’

Eddie frowns, ‘It’s Eddie, not Eds. Eddie is already a nickname.’

Richie just shakes his head, still with that damn grin on his face. ‘I think I’ll stick to Eds, Eds.’

Eddie chooses to ignore him, mostly because he wants this wedding to be over as fast as possible. ‘What do you do for a living’, Eddie mumbles when the court official begins to talk. He knows he should pay attention, but he’s about to marry this guy who he knows literally nothing about.

Richie leans down, seemingly on purpose to tart Eddie about their height difference, and answers his question. ‘I’m a famous comedian’, he response. Eddie admits that he looks the part. He almost laughs, this guy was everything his mother would hate. He wonders how Erika is doing, and f she’s having any luck with distracting her.

The ceremony goes fast, way faster that Eddie had expected, and it seems like he only blinked before it’s time for their vows. He goes first. He doesn’t want to be made fun off if Richie’s speech turns out way better. He clears his throat and turns his body towards Richie, trying to calm his erratic heart.

‘Hello new husband, as you might know by now, my name is Eddie. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, but here we are. I’ll warn you in advance, I hate germs, of any kind, so you’ll have to keep the house as clean as can be. I’m not brave, so don’t try and roll me in any adventures. All in all, I’m pretty boring. All I can promise you is that I’ll try my absolute hardest to be the best spouse I can be, and I’ll do my best to be a listening ear to you all the time. Instead at night of course’. Everyone laughs at his last sentence. Richie is smiling, a real smile this time.

Eddie’s heart skips a beat, and he can’t believe that he might actually like this lanky, brown haired giant. He tries to ignore it, there’s no way he’s already into a guy he met at most twenty minutes ago.

‘You are brave’, Richie whispers, so quietly Eddie is sure only he and the official can hear him, not even the camera’s. ‘you came here and did this, that already proves you’re braver than you think.’ Eddie blinks in surprise, and it seems that Richie snaps out of it too. He laughs nervously, and for a second he makes eye contact with his mother, who gives him an encouraging nod. ‘Eddie Spaghetti’, he begins.

‘That’s worse than Eds’, Eddie deadpans, and Richie laughs his ass off. Eddie laughs with him, for a moment he forgets that he’s being filmed.

‘I promise that I’ll always be ready with stupid jokes, who I’m gonna test out on you of course, and make you laugh every day. I also promise that I’ll always be ready to it going if you know what I mean, day and night’, he winks and Eddie pretends to gag. Everyone laughs once more. ‘I don’t know what else to say, you got lucky with me buddy, I bet we’re gonna have a great time.’ Richie finishes his speech with a bow towards his guest. They clap for him and Eddie rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath. ‘Drama Quinn.’

Richie hears him and grasps his chest where his heart lays. ‘You wound me Eds.’

‘By the power vested in me by the state’, Eddie hears the words vaguely, because he’s suddenly worrying about the question of whether or not they should kiss. He kind of wants to if he’s honest, but he doesn’t know if Richie does. ‘I now pronounce you husband and husband.’ Both Eddie and Richie stare at each other. It’s Eddie that leaps forward first, without even realizing it himself. They share a quick peck, it’s barely even considered a kiss, but Eddie loves the feeling of Richie’s chapped lips. He’s supposed to be disgusted by that, but he most definitely is not. 

When Richie and Eddie pull away, When Eddie falls back on his heels, he hears a gasp. His mother is standing there, alongside Erika who is smiling at the two of them. Eddie’s eyes widen. Sonia begins to cry immediately. ‘Oh look Eds, I made your mom cry. And for once it’s not because of my dick.’ Eddie gulps, his eyes unmoving from his mother. ‘Hey Eds you okay?’ Richie asks, with genuine concern. Eddie ignores him, subconsciously grabbing his hand. Richie reciprocate the movement, thankfully. ‘We’ve got to go,’ Eddie says, ‘now.’

And so they do. Richie doesn’t ask any questions, at least not yet, and Eddie is so damn grateful for that that he could almost kiss Richie again. His mother almost passes out, and she grabs Eddie’s cuff when he passes her.

‘Edward, what is this. What’s happening?’ She demands to now, and despite the fact that Eddie wants to escape the situation as fast as possible, he know he can’t.

‘Well misses K, one, we’re very gay. And two I’m sorry but we can’t continue are relationship, I know you’ll miss our evening dates, but I can only date one Kaspbrak at a time.’ Sonia gapes, trying to figure out how to form words and how to respond to it.

Before she can however, Richie tugs Eddie closer, and Eddie follows in a daze, he can’t comprehend what just happened. Nobody had ever stood up to Sonia like that.

When Eddie and Richie get seated in the limo, Eddie kisses Richie on his cheek. Richie blushes a bright red, trying to conceal it but failing miserably. Eddie thinks that he might be happier than he has been in a long long time.


	2. honeymoon

Eddie didn’t think he would, but he absolutely loves Hawaii. Richie and him had arrived only two days before, but he could safely say he had never laughed as hard before in his life.

Richie was the funniest guy Eddie had ever been on a date with. Although technically he was already married to the man.

He wasn’t always funny, as he made an awful lot of mom-jokes, but overall, Eddie would say he really did deserve the fame he got from being a comedian. Richie was a great guy, he never even asked what the whole mom debacle at the wedding had been about. instead he had told the camera’s that it was all part of a game he had thought off, trying to spare Eddie the embarrassment. When Eddie had profoundly apologized on the plane, the only time they weren’t being filmed, Richie had just shrugged and said that it was ‘cool’. And that he understood that some parents just weren’t all that accepting.

There was so much more to it that Richie didn’t know, but Eddie didn’t want to tell him all about his childhood, especially considering they had only known each other for five days.

Eddie had thought it would be awkward, that he wouldn’t be know what to say, but with Richie conversation just seemed to flow naturally. It helped of course that Richie wouldn’t ever shut up, even as it was already midnight. Eddie would never tell him so, but he cherished those moments. The camera wasn’t there, and Eddie didn’t feel like he had to keep information from Richie. He found himself wanting to kiss Richie at random times, but his fear of Richie’s germs stopped him. That was just an excuse Eddie knew, because when Richie initiated the kiss, Eddie didn’t hesitate to reciprocate.

When Eddie was growing up, he had always suspected that everyone disliked him because he was so sick. He had convinced himself that nobody, or at least most people, wanted to be his friend because they were afraid that they would contain what he had. When he found out that he wasn’t really sick, thanks to one of a routine control test he had to take at work, he figured it had nothing to do with that, it just had to do with his personality. His childhood was very vague, he barely remembered anything about it. He was pretty sure there was a group of kids that would sometimes talked to him, but with all the time he spend inside, he knew that there was no way that they were close.

Eddie didn’t necessarily hate himself, but he did dislike a lot of things about himself. He hated how he couldn’t sit down in a chair without wiping it off at least 10 times, how he sometimes got so irrationally angry or worked up it even scared himself, and he despised how he let his mother just walk over him. He knew he should stand up for himself, but it was hard when all his life he had been thought to agree to everything she said. He hated how when he felt a little sick he would immediately panic, thinking the worst. Eddie had assumed Richie would hate those things about him too.

It seemed that Richie was the complete opposite of what Eddie had suspected. When they arrived at their hotel the first day, Eddie had refused to take a shower without cleaning it himself, and Richie had watched him do it in amusement. He had offered to help Eddie, but Eddie had thought Richie was making fun of him. That almost turned into a fight. Eddie had watched Eddie with a frown, his eyes lightly sad because Richie had seemed like a nice enough guy to not laugh at him in his face. Richie had looked confused, his mouth falling open slightly, before shaking his head frantically. It looked almost comical. ‘I didn’t mean it like that Eds’

Eddie had believed him. Still, he hadn’t wanted Richie’s help, he wanted to do it in his own. Instead of reentering the bedroom, Richie kept Eddie company the entire time it took for him to clean the shower. He never made him feel like an idiot for wanting to clean the shower. After seeing Eddie’s pinched look when he ate on the bed, he stopped eating there as well. He seemed to be able to read whatever Eddie needed or wanted to do, which was weird sometimes, like when Richie just ordered him a strawberry milkshake, even if he had no way of knowing which one Eddie would prefer.

They slept together too, although Eddie had insisted on a wall of pillows between them. There was only one bed, and Eddie had said he’d sleep on the couch, but Richie had convinced him that there was no need to do that. For some reason, they’d always end up destroying the pillow wall, waking up with Richie slightly on top of Eddie, with their legs tangled together. When they woke up, they didn’t talk about it. Eddie was glad that the camera’s didn’t film them in that position.

They had slept together, but they hadn’t slept together yet, in the more sexual meaning of the word. He didn’t know if Richie was just respecting him, or if he didn’t feel any attraction towards him. Sometimes he wished he could hear what Richie was saying about him in interviews.

It wasn’t all great, Richie could be annoying at times, and they bickered constantly about anything. The second day that had bickered about which restaurant they were going to eat in, and the third day Richie had wanted to go in the sea while Eddie tried to persuade him into staying in the pool, because that was way more hygienic than the sea. Still, it was endearing and it made for some pretty interesting topics to be discussed.

When Eddie watched Richie clean his hand thoroughly on the second day of their honeymoon, he finally dared to reach for Richie’s hand. All his life Eddie had shied away from people’s touches, only ever being touch when it was to scold. But he was determined to break that mindset with Richie. He tried to do it subtly, in the middle of a conversation, but his face turned tomato red, and he knew Richie could see how much he was stressing out.

Richie himself, stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth finally stopping for a few seconds, before gripping back tightly and continuing on as if nothing happened. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Richie’s face mirrored his. Ever since they were holding hands all the time.

His mother was probably going to have a fit when she saw it on the show, but Eddie couldn’t care less. He was still nervous around the camera’s but Richie seemed to be aswell, so it was alright.

Eddie locked eyes with himself in the mirror, fixing his hair on last time before nodding and walking out of the bathroom without looking back. It was the final night of their honeymoon, and Richie had planned a nice romantic dinner on the beach. He had left earlier saying he had to prepare the table, which Eddie found funny, because really, the restaurant would normally take care of that, Richie was just being extra.

As he was walking towards the spot where he and Richie had agreed to meet, he let his eye wonder the resort for the final time. The hotel had been top notch, complete with a build in spa, an arcade, a full sports facility. Their hotel room looked out upon the ocean and the beach, and Eddie would secretly check Richie out when he took his morning swim.

He was going to miss this place. It was nice to get away from the busy schedule of a normal week, so Eddie was glad for the vacation. He hoped he and Richie were still going to get along when they went to their assigned apartment. In last year’s season, Eddie had seen how many couples broke apart because they found the other applicants more attractive. He sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case here.

He saw Richie sitting at as table at the beach, and he was wearing an Hawaiian shirt, his favorite Eddie was sure. When Richie opened his suitcase, Eddie saw that he only had the same ugly Hawaiian shirt in his suitcase, only in different colors. Eddie had teased Richie with it, and he hated to admit it but it did look really good on Richie.

Richie chose that exact moment to look up, seeing Eddie stand a few feet away, and excitedly jumped up. He was smiling, adjusting his glasses as he gestured with his hands.

‘Welcome to casa del Tozier, Eds.’ He said with a smirk, and he seemed really proud of himself.

‘It’s a restaurant you dumbass,’ Eddie teased, following it up with a quick, ‘and don’t call me that.’

Richie just smirked, trudging back towards the table with Eddie following closely. Richie had really tried his best. There were rose petals on the table, a flowers bunch with sea shells. There were Blue napkins, who honestly looked as wrinkled as Eddie’s grandma, but he did appreciate the gesture.

‘You went to a lot of trouble. Thank you.’ Eddie told him sincerely. Richie rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, suddenly losing his nerve.

‘It was nothing’, he replied instead. ‘I hope you enjoy the flowers, I was supposed to get them for your mom but you know since I’m here with you’, Eddie rolled his eyes playfully. ‘Gee thanks Rich, how did I ever get so lucky to be paired with you.’

They laughed, and Eddie nervously glanced at the camera’s currently pointed at him. Richie must have sensed his discomfort, for he bumped his knee against Eddie’s sending him a little smile.

A waitress for the hotel interrupted them then, putting a plate of oysters in front of them. Richie looked at it in disgust, until he noticed that Eddie was looking at him.

‘I ordered for us already if that’s okay, it was my day to choose remember?’

Eddie did remember, he and Richie had agreed that they each had every other day to choose an activity for the day. It was almost creepy has well they seemed to know each other. On his first day of choosing, Eddie had decided to visit the arcade in the hotel with Richie, watching as he was completely enwrapped with a game called street fighter. When Richie got his chance to decided what they would die, he came up with the idea to play baseball, which Eddie refused at first. It turns out that Eddie was really fast, and he really did enjoy playing baseball. He saw Richie looking nervous, and it warmed his heart that he had tried to make this meal as good as possible. Even though Eddie hated oysters.

Eddie smiles slyly, picking up on of the oysters. He swallowed it quickly, trying his best to keep his face neutral. ‘Actually I’m allergic to oysters.’

He watched Richie spit out his food, his face turning a pale white. ‘W-w-what?’ He asked, his voice shaking. Eddie hooted of laughter, tears nearly streaming over his cheeks. Once Richie realized that Eddie was just playing him, he laughed too. When the main dish came, fucking spaghetti, it was Richie’s turn to crack-up.

The dinner was great, despite the fact that choices were a little off. Eddie enjoyed every single meal, though he did recoiled when he saw a piece of spaghetti dangling out of Richie’s mouth. For dessert Richie did pick an Hawaiian dish. It was called Guava chiffon cake. Eddie was nervous for trying it, because he wasn’t used to consuming a load of sugar at the same time, but Richie managed to persuade him to try it, and Eddie absolutely loved it. It was light and creamy and sweet, and Eddie had never thought he could like a dessert that much.

After the meal, when the evening was coming to a close, one of the producers arrived with what they called ‘the honesty box’. A box full of questions which both Eddie and Richie had to answer honestly. Eddie went first, his hand shaking as he reached for one of the questions. It took a few seconds for his vision to focus. ‘Are you here for the right reason’, he read of the card, locking eyes with Richie straight after.

He wasn’t worried about this question, because he knew that Richie was a genuine guy. Richie smirked at him, ‘well to be honest Eddie Spaghetti, I joined for your mom’, Richie answered, but he was interrupted by Eddie. ‘No, no, beep beep Richie, answer straight right now.’

Richie’s smile fell off his face. ‘What did you just say?’

Eddie balked, panicking straight away. He wondered what he said wrong. ‘I… I’m sorry.’

Richie shook his head, plastering a smile so fake even Eddie could tell it was a hoax. ‘It’s okay’, Richie said, reaching across the table to rub his thumb over Eddie’s knuckles.

‘I joined because my manager wanted me to join, and because I was really tired of just being by myself.’ Richie confessed.

Eddie wasn’t surprised by that, Richie had admitted it too him in the car ride to their wedding venue, just as Eddie had admitted that his mother was the reason he was here. The next question was a bit harder for Richie to answer. ‘Do you think you could fall in love with me?’ This time Eddie was really interested in what Richie’s answer would be.

He glanced straight into the camera accidentally. He found it difficult to look straight into Richie’s eyes, and he saw that Richie was avoiding his aswell. ‘Yeah, I think so. Almost as much as I love your ass.’ He grinned. Eddie grinned too, though he did his best to hide his smile behind his hand, instead letting a groan.

Then it was Richie’s turn. He picked up a card, pretending to drop for comedian purposes. ‘What was the worst experience in your life?’ He read, tossing the card onto the table before reaching for his drink, as if he was giving Eddie some time to think about the question.

Eddie didn’t know how to respond. The answer was pretty clear to him, his childhood with all the doctor visits, but he didn’t want to tell Richie that yet. Sharing that piece of information that was closest to him, that fear that was deep enrooted in his heart, was terrifying. The weight of the inhaler he was carrying, which he didn’t even need was getting heavier by the second. He didn’t know if Richie would be turned off by his scars, by his baggage that he took with him, so he lied.

I didn’t have any friends in high school. I mean I’m pretty sure I didn’t have friends as a kid, I can’t really remember, but I’m high school it was really rough.’

It wasn’t exactly a lie. High school was hard on Eddie, just not the hardest part of his life. Richie leaned forward on the table, and when Eddie realized what he was trying to do, he leaned forward too. Their lips met in the middle, and they shared their shortest kiss yet. Richie’s lips were chapped, but for some reason that made him all the more endearing.

Eddie loved kissing Richie, it was like he could feel every emotion poured in the kiss. When Richie swiped his tongue over Eddie’s bottom lip, he opened up, allowing Richie to deepen the kiss. It was like they knew exactly what the other liked. ‘I’m sorry that happened to you Eds, I can’t imagine not wanting to be friends with you, you’re way too hot to be left alone.’ Eddie halfheartedly shoved at Richie’s shoulder. ‘Don’t call me that asshole.’ The rest of the night went by without a bump in the road.

When the night came, Richie started building the pillow wall between them again. While Eddie watched him from the bathroom, waiting until they were alone before getting rid of all the pillows. Richie looked at him in surprise, having no idea what was happening. Eddie places his hand on Richie’s cheek.

‘I think we don’t need that anymore.’ Richie agreed eagerly. Scooting over to make more room, Eddie slid beneath the soft blankets, instantly shuffling closer to Richie. He placed his head on Richie’s chest, while Richie threw his arm around his shoulders. They shared a goodnight kiss, before they finally settled in.

Richie presses a kiss to Eddie’s forehead. Eddie let out a sigh, twisting his fingers in the sheets beneath him. ‘It was my mom’, he said, long after he thought Richie had fallen asleep. ‘I know. You don’t have to explain right now.’ He couldn’t put in words how much he appreciated him in that moment.

‘I’m afraid that the others are going to find me boring,’ Eddie told Richie honestly. ‘What if one of the others are more interesting?’

Richie grabbed his hand. ‘Don’t worry Eds, no one could ever compare to my Spaghetti.’

‘You’re a dick,’ Eddie laughed, but he was reassured at least a little bit.

And when two days later, he met five other amazing people whom he would eventually become an amazing group with, than that would only be a plus to the whole experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to post my tumblr work on here so if you want to talk follow my tumblr under the same name!


	3. married at first sight chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie’s first dinner party, meeting the other couples

The night of the first dinner party , it’s surprisingly Richie that’s more stressed. Eddie had expected him to be the voice of reasons, as he usually was, but no, It’s Eddie’s turn to keep his head cool. 

This time though, Richie was working himself up badly, even having resorted to asking Eddie more than a few times if his outfits were alright.

Eddie was nervous too, but he was trying to hide it, so it wouldn’t become a cycle and cause Richie to obsess even more.

when he reentered the living room for a fifth time, wearing yet again something else then before, Eddie rolled his eyes in annoyance. ‘You look great Richie, don’t fret so much.’

Richie looked up at Eddie in surprise, as if he was expecting Eddie to lie and say that he looked hideous. Eddie knew that Richie wasn’t too comfortable with the way he looked, even though he had no idea how he was unable to see himself the way Eddie saw him.

Still, little things like this reminded Eddie that no matter how irrational, Richie felt that way, and Eddie would spend every day he could to help change his mind.

‘I don’t lie to you now do I? You told me yourself. I’m like a prissy old woman who will complain to your manager regardless of any excuses, I will not hold back’, Eddie tries his best to imitate Richie’s voice, but he fails flat. Impressions are mostly Richie’s thing, not his.

After a few weeks of living together however, they started to rub off on each other. Eddie was less aware of the camera pointed at his face at all times and was more prone to step out of his comfort zone. Excpet the parts where he had to look straight into the camera and give his commentary about an event that happened, that was not his thing at all. While Richie in turn had developed a habit of cleaning up after himself, purely because he knew it annoyed Eddie.

Sometimes it felt like Eddie’s heart would burst out of his chest with emotion. The, dare he use the word, love that consumed him from top to bottom when he thought of his husband, was something he had never felt before. He hadn’t even been aware that such a feeling could exist.

If you had asked Eddie a year before the whole experiment and meeting Richie how he would respond to such an intents emotion, he would have responded with panic.

Something changed though, and the fact that he was in love with a man didn’t make him feel like he would throw up anymore. and it was not just any man, it was Richie, and Eddie was starting to get the idea that by only hearing his name, whatever negative emotion still lingered, ebbed away like the sea did at night.

His only request was that he find a way to explain that all to Richie himself. Eddie is not good with words, he knows that and thanks to his friends and Richie it’s something he’s working on, yet it’s still so difficult to open his mount and vocalize the feelings their close proximity was providing, even after having spend a long time period cooped up in a small hotel room.

That and the fact that Eddie was still unsure about their relationship. He was desperate not to get his heart broken, even with the brave face he was putting on, and the endless stream of insults Richie laughed away every single time, he was a sensitive man by heart.

They had a lot of things in common, that was for sure, from the way the both of them were stubborn as hell, to the place they grew up, but there were also a lot of differences, Eddie couldn’t help but take notice off. Richie was loud and unbothered by the amount of space he took up. In fact, he seemed to thrive under the attention from others, whilst Eddie tended to shy away from the focus of others. It made sense that Richie liked that sort of thing, seeing as he was famous for capturing people’s attention during shows, but Eddie didn’t think it would be that present in their everyday lives.

Eddie wasn’t stupid, he understands Richie more than Richie himself might peg him for, and he remembers what he said on their first night together, about how he was scared that people would forget about him. And Eddie understands that, a little, for he was also really scared that he would be left with nobody if he didn’t stick around by his mother, they just handle their fears differently.

The outgoing personality of Richie, versus the wanting-to-be-invisible in public personality from Eddie caused enough reasonable doubt in Eddie that they might not match with one another.

Eddie wondered if any of the other couples had the same problems. Although it was mostly Richie who was fearing the dinner party, Eddie wasn’t completely reassured either. He knew that he would compare himself to the others, as soon as he laid eyes on them. It had always been that way for him, even since he was a child. His diseases his mother claimed he had, already resulted in him being different from everyone else, and so he did whatever he could to make sure he mirrored his peers for everything else.

But This was a different situation, one where there were no standard responses, no right way of doing things, no guides to gently angle them in the right direction. So far, Eddie and Richie had been in their own bubble, in which they did everything in their own pace, but Eddie was certain that as soon as he saw the others, he would try to mold his relationship to appear like theirs.

At least, that was how he would normally act. The determination clogging every vein is his body was trying very hard to keep stealthy, to not follow his mother for the so manieth time.

He didn’t tell Richie any of his worries, as he was always venting about how hard it was for him to be on the show, and he refused to give Richie any doubts about them. Even when Richie had never been anything but kind and patient with him.

‘Yeah yeah you’re right Spaghetti. If you think I’m hot, then I’m sure your mom will feel the same, and if she feels the same, then I feel the same too.’

The glare Eddie shot Richie did nothing to stop the thunderous laugh that Richie let free, but Eddie cared less about that than he would ever admit. When Richie laughed, the dark clouds that clouded Eddie’s vision would evaporate for a few moments, making it the highlights of his day.

Not that there were many downs in the first place.

‘Come om Rich, if we don’t leave now, we might be late. I cannot, I repeat cannot be late on the first day of meeting these people. If we were to leave now, we would definitely not be the first, which is great because I am not prepared to having to sit there and wait and pretend to be comfortable and like the both of us haven’t been worrying about this for days, even though this fucking dress shirt is cutting of my air supply and that’s going to be really tricky.’ Eddie sucked in a huge breath of air, another Kaspbrak rant coming to end.

‘But if we’re the last, then everyone will already have met each other and stare at us like we’re fucking clowns in a circus when we go in.’ After a pause where there is no response, Eddie hastily adds, ‘so I’d like to leave now please.’

Okay so maybe it’s not just Richie that’s a little bit stressed.

His eyes flung up to meet Richie’s, the position making Richie appear bigger and larger than he already was compared to him when standing up. Richie was sporting a smile on his face, a real one, not the fake obnoxiously large one he used when a fan came up to him to try out a joke and it fell flat, and he wasn’t heartless enough to not laugh. The real smiles caused Eddie’s heart to stop for a moment, a beat where every atom in his body was purely focused on Richie, before realizing, oh hey we can look at this gorgeous man whenever we want, let’s get back keeping Eddie alive so he can.

‘I’m so glad they matched me with you’, is what Richie said after a few moments. Eddie can’t help but throwing a smile shyly his way, accepting the hand extended to him to slot their hand together.

‘Sap’ Eddie murmured under his breath, but inconspicuously inching closer to Richie’s side as they left their apartment, and entered the car.

As always, Richie opened the car door, letting Eddie slide in first. When he walked across the car, getting in on the other side, Eddie allowed himself a moment to check Richie out. He ended up wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt with jeans, which wasn’t anything fancy but it was Richie, and that was more than enough.

Looking down the inspect his own clothing, Eddie figured he was a bit overdressed. He had decided on wearing a cardigan that was just on the side of too tight, with cufflinks, he also wore a dress pants, in a warm beige.

Now he was starting to feel self-conscious. However, Richie told him that he looked good, and Eddie convinced himself that that was all that mattered.

The car ride itself didn’t last very long, which Eddie lucked out in, for car rides seamed to increase his anxiety levels. Luckily Richie held his hand the entire way there, not even thinking of letting go. No words were able to describe how much Eddie loved him for it.

‘Do you think there will be other gay couples?’ Eddie asks after he sees Richie squirm in his seat for the third time in ten minutes. It’s not a thought he had spend much time thinking about, but it was an important one. He did not want to deal with a homophobe at all.

Patients wasn’t something Eddie accumulated with Richie at first, everything about Richie screamed inpatient, but when it came to dealing with Eddie, Richie never pressured him into anything. Which meant that they had only started holding hands only a two days prior, and the both of them were still searching how and when hand holding was appreciated and when not.

Richie shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but if there aren’t, I’ll turn all those hetero’s gay when they look at me.’

Eddie laughed, despite his best efforts not too. ‘Besides, even if they suck, they can’t be worse than the bullies from my hometown.’

A scowl formed on Eddie’s forehead, thinking back to the story’s Richie had trusted upon him about his childhood. Part of him hoped that those assholes were dead in a ditch somewhere.

‘I wouldn’t let them do anything to you Rich.’ Eddie promised with his whole heart, however wanted to hurt Richie now, was going to have to go through him.

He completely missed the look of pure adoration Richie shot him, too busy thinking of ways to respond should anyone feel the need to comment on the fact that they were gay. 

Eddie, as usual, was right. They were not the first, but thankfully, they were not the last either. Two couples were seated side by side and a large sofa in the middle of the room, all of them sporting a drink in their hands.

The table were the drinks were presented on, was placed in the right corner behind the couch, and Richie had already decided what drink he would be ingesting later, before he even took a good look at the contestants.

Eddie shouldn’t have worried, since there were three men, and only one woman, meaning that there were at least two other gay lovers. He walked towards the woman first, as she had already stood up, her arms opened in a loving gesture, and enveloped him as soon as he was within reach. It was then that Eddie noticed that he still had Richie’s hand clasped in his, and disappointment made it’s presence when Eddie was forced to let go in order to hug her.

‘I’m Beverly, but you can me Bev.’

Her voice sounded like honey felt; warm and mushy, and Eddie liked her before he even got a change to truly get to know her. A flash of excitement washed over him. He had been so worried, but he hadn’t considered the possibility that it could be fun to meet people who maybe had the same problems as him.

He moved over to what he assumed was her husband, a strong ridiculously good looking man, wo also gave him a hug, and told him his name was Ben. If Richie didn’t have the entirety of Eddie’s heart, and Ben would be gay, damn straight Eddie would go for him.

When Eddie turned to greet the other two man, he overheard the conversation between Richie and Beverly.

‘Aren’t you that famous comedian, Trasmount Tozier?’

‘Why yes I am my fair lady, hey Eds you hear that, somebody recognizes me.’

Eddie ignored him, though the urge to roll his eyes was very persistent. The other man gniffled, introducing himself as William, Bill Denbrough. Then the man lovingly gestured at his partner while stepping back into his side as soon as he could, letting the other man introduce himself as Mike Hanlon.

They seemed right for each other, their general aura and vibe shining through in just the way they wordlessly followed the others lead. When they glanced at one another, they both inconspicuously tried to pretend that they were not looking, and it was awful for Eddie to feel relieved by that, but he did. It showed that it wasn’t just him and Richie that were a bit timid.

Ben and Beverly seemed like the sweetest pair of people anyone could ever meet. Especially Ben. He was good looking sure, but his biggest attribute was the kindness he showed, to Beverly but also to everyone else. He seemed like the type of person who could never hate anyone, despite what they may have done to him. Bev appeared to be sweet as well, but Eddie could tell that she was also fiery, and that you shouldn’t try to double cross her, or you might end up in trouble. He suspected that he would get along with her great.

They offered them a drink, a glass of champagne which they insisted that they drank, and because Eddie didn’t want to seem stuck up, he took it and sipped little bits of it. Richie and him sat together on a different sofa, as close as humanly possible. They had just plopped down when the door opened again, and another man and woman made an appearance.

They both looked as cool and collected as any person could be, in particular the man, but they seemed kindhearted too.

They came up to Richie first, Eddie cringed when Richie pulled the man close into an embrace, he was however pleasantly surprised when man caustically returned the hug. ‘My name is Stanley’, he said while moving over to Eddie.

A chorus of ‘hey Stanley’ was heard throughout the room, followed by a ‘hi Patty’, when the woman introduced herself. They too were given a glass of champagne, right after they chose the seat next to Eddie and Richie.

To everyone’s surprise, Richie and Stan hit it off straight away. Richie would do whatever he could to provoke Stan, as he always did with Eddie, and Stan would give deadpan answers, causing the whole group to burst out in laughter.

The jealousy Eddie figured he would experience never made an appearance, for Richie kept his hand on Eddie’s thigh the entirety of the evening, and all it made Eddie feel was supported.

They discovered they all grew up in Derry Maine, which was odd, since they were all around the same age yet they had never seen each other around at school. They wrote it off as a weird coincidence, and Eddie tried to occupy his mind from overthinking it. A nagging feeling in the back of his head seemed to tauntingly tell him something. Yet he couldn’t figure it out.

Al in all the night went amazing. By the end of the event, Eddie was sure he had 7 new friends, and that no matter what happened, they would remain that way after the experience.

With these people, he was not the odd one out, everyone of them was different, but everyone also fit in. They all had experiences that differed from the other, but they also all fit in perfectly.

Each one of them had their own crosses to bare, in their relationship but also in their personal life. Eddie trusted them enough to tell them about his mom, or he would have if the camera’s weren’t there.

Ben was insecure because he had been a bit chubbier as a kid, and he constantly felt like his partners deserved better than him.

Beverly had a horrifying experience with her dad, even though she was hesitant and didn’t say what, only revealing that she had trust issues.

Stanley dealt with some mental health issues, that were still lingering through in his every day life.

Patty had family members who were going through the same things as Stan, so she was very protective.

The death of his little brother had been a traumatic event that defined most of Bill’s young and adult life, but he was trying hard to move past it.

Mike’s parents were killed during a fire, and loneliness was his best friend because of it for years.

Eddie’s breathing got a bit easier with the knowledge that he wasn’t the only one who was a little out of the ordinary.

When Richie and Eddie made their way back home, holding hands like they had been doing throughout the event, Eddie’s view on their future, got a little lighter. The conversation he had helped him put things into perspective, and with newfound courage, Eddie couldn’t wait to continue their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added another part because why not


	4. Home stays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time for Eddie’s part of the home-stays. Unfortunately, this also means that they’ll have to visit Sonia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: there’s one sex joke in this (it’s Richie) and Sonia is in this so mental manipulation

About five weeks into the experiment, Eddie is ready to call it quits. Not because Richie and him aren’t working as a couple, they are, really well actually, but because Eddie made a grave miscalculation.

He has long abandoned his own promise to leave the program as soon as possible, instead cherishing every date he and Richie go on that is paid by the production, spending more money on one date than Eddie has done in all his previous get-togethers ever.

It helps that for now they are in their own little world, away from every stress point of the daily life, in a place where they only have to focus on each other. He’s not ready yet to have to go back to work, or to move away from Richie, with him living in New York, and Richie residing in Chicago. Richie made him fall hard, and now he doesn’t think he ever wants to go to a house without him, for that house would not be a home.

As per consensus, Richie and him agreed on staying right until the week before the homestay at Eddie’s to avoid having to go and live with Sonia. The thing is, neither of them really kept track of what week they were on, for days in the same place blended together rather easily, or what the next would bring, not while they were having so much fun.

There’s no one else to blame but his own stupidity for that error, since they days before the commitment ceremony, they went to Richie’s homestay. It was only natural that Eddie’s followed. When that was revealed, Eddie and Richie looked at each other in shock, both of them cursing their obliviousness and forgetfulness, but by then, it was too late.

Suggesting that they forfeit anyway, Richie tried to help as best he could, but Eddie refused to do that, claiming it would portray them as a bad couple, and he wasn’t up for that; Richie deserved better than that. Not to mention his career. If they were to call it quits now, an explanation was obligatory, and that might result in reputation damage. For someone who worked in the business Richie did, that was not permissible.

That’s why they find themselves in a plane with destination New York, Eddie gripping Richie’s arm tightly, praying to whoever was up there to help them make it through the week. One might argue that Eddie isn’t forced to go see his mother, it’s only the home-stay, which means go to your own home, and Eddie wouldn’t have gone to her, if she didn’t live with him.

The last time they were on the plane, only days prior to this, their moods had been significantly better, Eddie full of anxious excitement at the prospect of meeting the people he had heard so much about. 

Maggie and Wentworth Tozier lived in a fairly small house, only 30 minutes away from where their son lived, with a medium sized garden filled with all sorts of flowers and herbs. It may not have been as big as Eddie’s house was growing up, nonetheless it exhibited a warmth and serenity, the flowers and spices creating scents that lingered every time they entered the backyard, a welcome aroma that greeted them.

Maggie loved to bake, roping Richie and Eddie into baking one with her and bonding, while Wentworth set the table, and showed them his collection of Richie’s comedy specials, disks all neatly combined in one folder.

Their support in everything their son did was heartwarming, but it also pushed Eddie out of his comfort zone, made him feel out of place. He didn’t have that sort of support system, and he was clueless on how to act around parents who did.

Richie assured him that his parents adored him, and Eddie believed him, mostly since he was completely amoured by them too, and he hoped that they deemed him good enough for their son.

Right after dropping by his parents, the two of them went to Richie’s home. His apartment was the same size as Eddie’s in New York, the only difference being that Eddie’s was much neater, not filled with so much unnecessary stuff and memories. There were a lot of pictures, most of them of Richie and his parents, and the friends he made during stand up, but also a few of a dog he once owned as a kid.

The pictures forced Eddie to think about his own apartment, bare of anything that made the place him. He only had one picture, and that was the photograph that was taken when he was thirteen with his mom coiling him in her grasp, scolding when he didn’t smile bright enough for her liking.

He listened to her, as he always did, the smile more manufactured than her figurines she bought from China, but he remembers how much he longed to be in his room so he had the change to cry in peace, helpless and stuck while she controlled him like a puppet. He swore to himself that day that he’d stick up for himself, and defy her, but his rebellion only lasted a month, before he realized that it did nothing but cause her claws to stick in deeper, and stealing the little freedom he had.

He’s ashamed of himself for living with his mother, and for allowing her to wring her way back into his daily life like he needed her to be there for every decision, but it’s hard to be brave when you have no one else to fall back on. He never had a reason to fight back, but with Richie, he has found one.

His idea was to talk to his mother after the show, keeping his foot down and demanding her to move out, but since the wedding, he ignored every single call his mom made, convincing himself that he needed a little bit of extra time to gain the courage.

Because he dropped of the grid and didn’t contact her in any way, he understood that he needed to call her, at the very least to let her know Richie and him were coming.

However, Richie and him hopped on a plane first thing after a meeting with the experts, leaving him with no time at all to warm his mother about their arrival, and without a proper conversation between the two of them.

He’s certain, that as soon as Richie walks over the threshold, she’ll chew him up, and then spit him out like he’s a filthy piece of dog shit. And god damnit Eddie is sick of her being allowed to do those things without any consequences. Someone should say something about it, and that someone should be him.

The whole trip, he divides his time between prepping Richie for the monster that his mother can be if she opts for it, thankful that the cameras are nowhere in sight, and assessing every possible outcome to prevent a huge blowout from occurring.

He will address her about her behavior, just not on television broad cast, so he’ll try the whole week to appease her, without throwing Richie under the bus. That’s a slippery slope to ride on.

His husband, for five weeks already yet the word still causes him to brighten up, is animatedly practicing for his next movie roll, and cracking jokes, attempting and achieving to mollify some of Eddie’s fears away.

‘Hey Eddie Spaghetti, how much you want to bet that I can indulge this whole sandwich in one bite?’

‘If you even try, I’ll leave you on this plane all by yourself.’

‘Auch, dully noted.’

His mother may be a horrible person, but this time he won’t have to face her alone. That also is reason for concern be as that may, because even despite the fact that Eddie told Richie all about his mother, there’s a whole lot of difference between hearing about it, and seeing it in the flesh.

Though he obsesses and over analyses every possible outcome of his sudden appearance with his mother, he is taking aback by her reaction none the less. Knocking on his front door, after ensuring Richie to take everything that comes out of her mouth with a grain of salt, the sight of her tight-lipped smile emerges.

She’s wearing the same dress she wore on the day of the wedding, the door clenched in her fists, glancing at them with glare she is careful to keep hidden from everyone who is unfamiliar with her. It’s one of her specialties, to mask how much hell she’s about to bestow upon Eddie towards other people.

Eddie immediately knows that she is livid, and by the hand that falls on his lower back, he can tell Richie understands it too.

‘Come in Eddie-bear’, she invites them in, as if the flat isn’t registered in Eddie name instead of hers. Eddie allows himself one more moment of hesitation, before faltering inside.

The minute he steps in, he wants to run back out. The walls metaphorically close in on him, like he is going to buried under the concerns and scrutiny of his mother, hiding him from every real love he could ever hope to get.

It’s torture, and he fights against every instinct in him to stay put. The place has been under his name for six years, and when he first bought it, he associated the place with new beginning and freedom, causing him to happily skip home after school every day. He discovered what kind of person he is here, what his personality entails, and he despises the fact that, just like with everything else, his mother took this away too.

His knees start to get a little weak, and Eddie thinks he might pass out any second, until Richie comes up beside him, his arm thrown over his waist and allowing Eddie to lean his weight on him, all his muscles relaxing after being cramped up in fight or flight mode.

A feather-light kiss is pressed to his forehead, Richie’s body shielding him from the camera and Sonia’s havoc eyes for barely a minute, but enough for Eddie to compose himself.

‘Hi miss K, I’m Richie.’ The greeting is one that is so unlike Richie that Eddie comes close to calling the whole thing off, his heart bleeding with the need to protect and preserve everything good about the man who is goofy and kind-hearted.

‘Richard,’ Sonia allows with a curt nod, inching her body away from Richie when he tries to hug her as a salutation. He doesn’t let it get to him, Richie’s polite smile remains on his face, determined to prove to her that he is above all that pettiness that she’s displaying.

The camera man shuffles closer, presumably zooming in on Richie’s face, gauging his reaction. Her attempt to conceal her distaste is not working effectively, but that is the opposite of a problem for the tv-show.

People eat drama up, and this will be no different, except that Eddie is now the one they’ll be gossiping about behind his back. A shiver rolls over his body, annoyance prickling the back of his neck. It’s easy to forget the cameras are rolling when he’s enjoying Richie’s company, but the reality that others observe them and every move they make is under scrutiny, is infuriating.

‘Oh Eddie-kins, it’s been so long since I’ve heard of you.’

She attempts to embrace him, but he only allows if for a second, detangling them to create more space between them. A mother touch should provoke a feeling of safeness, of care and love, but Sonia’s hugs always made it feel like tiny bugs crawled their way across his body, and no amount of whipping would ever get them off of him, and he avoided them at all costs.

Try as he might, he can’t fight the need to practically fall on his knees and apologies to her, his earlier determination about standing up for himself slipping away like water between his hands. He manages to shrug in lieu of it, but only by the skin of his teeth.

‘You look so skinny,’ she adds, true to form already doing her very best to poison his mind with the ideas of him being unwell. ‘I’ll bring you something to eat too.’

She spurns Richie, failing to ask him if he needs anything, marching to the kitchen.

Eddie grabs Richie’s hand, their finger interlocking while he catches the reassuring smile Richie gives him. ‘Wanna go see my room?’

‘Oh kinky Eds, and the first time I’m visiting too? I didn’t peg you for such a guy.’

With a gentle push of expiration and an accompanied eye-roll, he drags them over to his bedroom, the only space in the apartment that holds any worthwhile to him, or at least the a box hidden under his bed does. He guesses his mother will be busy with her tea , the one that Eddie has such a distaste for he almost dry heaves every time he takes a sip of, for a little while so they have a bit of time to spare.

The bedroom door remains open so the camera crew can pile in after them, their equipment enough to block the door from his mother’s prying eyes.

He crouches down on the floor in order to grab the box, pausing to really think things through, and then takes out just the picture, the lone one that was taking of both him and his father, previous to standing up, and joining Richie on the edge of the bed.

If he wants to relationship with Richie to work, he needs to reveal everything about him, including the parts that have yet to be healed, but he rules out that conversation until they’re alone.

There were more stuff in the box that belonged to his father, but those aren’t as important s the picture.

The photo gets muffled away out of sight of the camera, saved for a time when all the production crew has gone to bed.

His intent was to show Richie around the rest of the apartment, but the tea is prepared faster that he had foreseen, so he backlogs his plans, and they move to the living room.

His mother has, gracefully, packed a third mug, which she fills to the brim with her disgusting beverage, and offers up to them.

While Eddie and Richie choose the seat next to each other, his mother sits opposite to them, the tea sloshing on the table as she swirls it. Inwardly, Eddie cringes, the need to clean it up presenting itself with such a velocity that his hands shake.

‘So Eddie, talk to your mommy. How have you been?’ Eddie is muddled over her behavior. On the one hand, she is much calmer than he expected her to be, but on the other hand, he knows better than to let his guard down around her.

‘It’s been great mom, I’m really happy that I got paired with Richie’, he remarks. He’s being intentionally vague, as to not give her any ammo to verbally attack them with.

From the moment they stepped foot into the flat, she disdains Richie, never once addressing him, and it’s starting to get on Eddie’s nerves. He almost wishes she would scream, so sheltering himself and Richie is an option, whereas now it feels like he’s waiting for the punchline to drop.

‘Oh yes, Richard.’ The malicious sneer has resumed it’s place, her eyes squinted together as she leers at Richie. Richie’s posture shift, his body ridging but his mouth still firmly shut, biting his tong. The fact that Richie refrains from any sort of humor, or talking in general, leaves Eddie unsettled and on edge. He doesn’t like it, and the absence is an experience he’ll avoid as much as possible in the future.

‘What have they been feeding you Eddie-bear? You are so skinny. It’s not good for you you know, staying away from home for so long. Are you homesick? Is that why you’re barely eating?’

Embarrassment tints Eddie’s cheeks bright red, her treatment of him not unlike that five year old, condescending in the worst way.

The penny drops, and Eddie all at once understands what her game plan is. She’s trying to manipulate the situation so that it seems like Richie isn’t a good husband or partner, both for the tv show, and for Eddie.

She must have known that demanding Eddie to come home would have only resulted in him turning his back on her even more, so she ventured to do it in a different way.

‘Eddie is perfectly fine, misses K, his abs and frankly the rest of his body can vouch enough for that.’ Richie laughs, but the joke falls flat and dies out at the hard stare he receives. Tittering awkwardly, he clears his throat.

‘He isn’t homesick either, in fact, he told me that he loved to travel, he’s fine,’ Richie defends him, their legs locking under the table, not in view of the camera’s and his mother.

‘Even so, I’m very essential to my sons life, Richard. If you even consider being part of his, I come with the territory.’

‘Eddie is perfectly cable of being by himself, he doesn’t need anyone. Are you sure that it isn’t you that needs him?’

Sonia jumps up from her seat, her lukewarm drink spilling over the top and dripping of the side. She turns pale, her whole visage drained of any color, so utterly devoid of any other emotion other than enragement.

‘Do you hear that? Do you hear the way he speaks to me?’ She screeches to the lens-man, who blinks sheepishly at her, finding her outburst rather strange., as there was barely any provocation. The man glimpses at Eddie and Richie, who remain quite, and he follows their lead.

‘Eddie, force Richard out of here, he is no longer welcome. I won’t accept someone talking ill about me.’

‘He is mom’, Eddie states, his voice trembling somewhat, although the words don’t lack conviction.

‘Excuse me?’

‘This is my home, and you’re powerless to decide who comes through those doors.’ The camera is glaring right in his face and he is tempted to push it away, which is almost the perfect outlet for the anger he’s experiencing, but he’s better than that.

‘Eddie-bear’, she chuckles uncertain. ‘I’m just trying to look out for you. You’re delicate honey, and people like him,’ she spat at Richie, ‘will derail your mind.’

Scoffing, Eddie rises from his chair as well, establishing eye contact to assert dominance.

‘He won’t. But even if someone would try, they wouldn’t succeed.’ The picture in his pocket calls his attention, and his hand wonders into the pocket to touch it for a second, drawing strength from it.

‘Not anymore.’

Sonia gapes, her mouth opening and closing, unbelieving that her sweet, innocent boy said such a thing to her.

‘We’ll talk more when I get back, me and Richie are staying in a hotel tonight.’

He denies her the chance to reply and ruin the day even more, trudging outside with as much confidence he has. Richie says something to Sonia, out of hearing shot from Eddie, before he too, falls into step beside Eddie.

‘I’m sorry that this home-stay turned out to not be such a ‘home’-stay after all,’ Eddie apologizes, using air quotes on the word home.

‘Hey, Eds it’s fine. I don’t care where am I, as long as it’s with you.’

The blush returns, now for a whole different reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry it took me so long to add another chapter! I’m thinking about applying for a writing course in college so i would really appreciate any honest opinion about my writing!

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to post my tumblr work on here so if you want to talk follow my tumblr under the same name!


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